Better the devil you know

STOP THE PRESS!  No…wait…  STOP THE WEB!

The Walking Dead season 3 begins in the UK on FX this Friday 19^th October at 10pm!!

Put it in your Sky planners!  Mark it on your calendar!  Or, if you’re not like me and don’t care one little bit about the zombie apocalypse and Rick Grimes’ survival, ignore this and scroll down to today’s post…

 How was your weekend?  Mine was very relaxing, full of shopping, lunch and sleep.  We caught up on the weeks TV (I am now fully up to date on Modern Family and terrified of flying after The Plane Crash) and even watched this weeks Sky Premier, Horrible Bosses.

Horrible Bosses is one of those that I wanted to see at the cinema, but not quite enough to actually go and see it.  I adore Jennifer Anniston and am growing rather fond of Jason Bateman, not to mention it boasts the names of Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell.

Not only that but this comedy speaks to everyone.  Who hasn’t had a horrible boss?  I’ve had the boss who blames everyone but himself, the ambitious, headstrong boss who doesn’t listen or care, the flirty and slightly pervy boss and the utterly clueless boss.  Not all of these are different people!

Horrible Bosses focuses on three types of bosses; the amibitious out-for-himselfer, the sexual harasser and the drugged up clueless.  All of which are utter extremes.

That was the main problem I had with this film.  The script was funny, the acting flawless but the premise was just that tiny bit unbelievable.  You hate your boss?  Your boss is ruining your life?  Quit!

Nick (Jason Bateman) couldn’t quit because he didn’t want to start all over again and Harken (Spacey) had made it clear he would ruin him if he left.  Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) couldn’t quit because Pellitt (Farrell) was going to inadvertently kill thousands of people.  Dale (Charlie Day) couldn’t quit because he was a registered sex offender and who else would employ him but sex obsessed Julia (Anniston)? 

Fine, all good reasons, if not slightly far fetched in places, but still, your work is making your life that much of a misery?  Quit!

They don’t quit, instead they decide that their bosses must die.  Who hasn’t considered this before?  Well, me, for one.  I’ve had just as many horrible bosses as I have nice ones but I’ve never once thought of killing them.  Punching them maybe, telling them what I think of them, but ultimately I just quit and moved on.

While the film was enjoyable, the silliness was just a little too much.  A very important lesson can be learnt from this – whatever your story, make it believable!

It doesn’t matter if it is fantasy, science fiction, romance or a comedy about three men with horrible bosses, it must be believable or your readers will lose interest and your story will begin to disappoint.

Another important lesson from Horrible Bosses is a reality check – how to deal with your own horrible boss.  What impressed me the most about these three men was that they each confronted their horrible boss.  Personally, I would have just quietly quit and turned my back, but each of them attempted to make amends and improve their situation.  Of course, they all failed.

That printer scene in Officespace

At the end of the film, each character has his own closure with his boss, one way or another.  What they learn is that just because you get rid of one horrible boss, doesn’t mean that the next one will be any better.

The one thing I love about ‘workplace’ films is that they can speak to you.  Officespace is a brilliant example of this.  Just the printer scenes alone made me laugh so hard I nearly cried and in this age of the recession, if you haven’t been privy to some redundancies then you’re very lucky.  It was the end of Officespace that secured this as one of the best films in my collection.  It was very personal to me; I know I’m in the wrong job when I begin driving into work hoping to find what they found when they arrived at work right at the end.  But the ending also gives hope, that there is a job that you will enjoy out there.  You just have to find it.

Horrible Bosses did have a closing message but it wasn’t one of hope and it didn’t hit a nerve.  It was just the message that life goes on.

So the next time you think about killing your boss (or just smacking them), consider this; better the devil you know.  You never know who might be waiting in the wings ready to replace them.  It could be Harken, ready to work you into the ground and not giving you anything to show for it, or Julia, making your life an utter misery and shattering your nerves, or Pellitt, simply someone irresponsible who has the job that you could do with your eyes shut.

Give Horrible Bosses a go, it's good fun and a laugh, but don’t expect too much.  If you fancy a good workplace film, why not try Officespace (also with Anniston) or, if you’re of a female persuasion, I would highly recommend The Devil Wears Prada.